Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the arrival of three Chinese Navy vessels in Sydney Harbour was planned, despite the government not publicly announcing the visit.
The People's Liberation Army ships docked in Garden Island, which lies below HMAS Kuttabul in Potts Point, on Monday morning.
Mr Morrison said it was a reciprocal visit after Australian naval vessels visited China and dismissed suggestions the timing was contentious given the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre was on June 4.
"We have known about that (visit) for some time," he told reporters in the Solomon Island's capital of Honiara on Monday.
"This was a program of a reciprocal visit. They were returning after counter drug trafficking operations in the Middle East.
"It may have been a surprise to others but it certainly wasn't a surprise to the government."
